Focusing adjustment device



v 1,689,918 c. E. GODLEY FOCUSING ADJUSTMENT nnvrcn Oct. 30, 1928.

Filed Sept. 16, 1926 2 Sfiaets-Sheet 1 Oct. 30, 1928. 1,689,918 C. E. GODLEY FOCUSING ADJUSTMENT DEVICE v Filed Sept. 16, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Oct. 30, 1928.

GiiARLES E. eonnm', oF' Y'Ps LAN'ri, MICHIGAN, AssIenon, BY nnsnn ASSIGNMENTS,"

TO 0. .M. HALL LAMP COMPANY, ja joonronn rion or MICHIGAN.

Focosmo anirusmmmi'r nnvron.

Application filed September 16, 1926. Serial No. 135372;

My invention relates to a focusing-device particularly suited for use in automobile headlights where the filament of the lamp bulbs needto be adjusted both longitudinally and vertically with respect to the reflectorz.

Generally s1'ie-al i1ig;.rny invention :aims to provide a simple and cheaply manufactured focusing device 'which'can easily be manipulated even by lHGXPGIlGIlCBCllISBIS for aflordi11 both the longitudinal and the vertical adjustment, and one in which the two adjustments are respectively made by sliding and by tilting the lamp socket with respect to a stationary socket support, such a reflector. More particularly, *my invention aims to provide a focusing 'd'evice forthisdo'uble purpose in which-the lnovements are transmitted to the lamp socket by a resilient member which isshaped and positioned for all'ording a'substantially straight push-and-pull eli'ect,

but which member isa'dapted to be flexed to lockthe socket; aims to provide means operable from the EXtBllOl ofthe lamp casing itor bodily moving the resilient'member longitudinally of the lam p "to secure the longitudinal athustment, and aims to provide means 1ndependently. actuated from the exterior of the lamp casing for flexing the resilient member so as to rock the socket in one direction.

My invention also aims to provide a construction of this class including a simple and easily assembled lever arrangement for flexing the resilient member, and including simple means for retainingfthe resilient member in operative relation to the lever when the resilient member is flexedduring the attaching or detaching of the lamp bulb. It also aims to arrange the parts so that the resiliency of the resilient. member will normally tend to rock the amp bulb in one direction (and preferably in the direction which raises thelamp filament) while amovenient of'the 1e ver in one direction wjillfleX the resilient member so as to lower the lamp filament,

Furthermore, my invention aims to provide an arrangement of thisclass in which the resilient member guides the adjacent part of the lever so that a sim )le mounting will suflicejt'or the other end .0 thelever, and so that the resilient member and a lever-actuating. screw co-operate for holding a nnton ,this screw inoperative relation to the. lever.

Still further and also more detailed objects w-illappear from the following specification and from the accompanying drawings, in whioh Fig. 1 is a fragmentary central, vertical and longitudinal,section through an automobile headli ht equipped with av focusing device embodying my invention, showing this with ithelower filament of a double filament lamp bulb substantially axial of the reflector. V

2 is a section similar to Fig; 1, but showing the focusing-deviceadjusted to dispose the lower filament as high above the axis o l the reflector as the construction Will pernut.

Fig. 3 isanenlarged rear perspective view of. the central portion of the reflector.

Fig. 4 is a ,1)61S1)8(3l31\6 View, of the rearend Hector -l ol the headlight has a perforation 5 of 1a-ividth 'correspondmg to the outside diameter off the lamp-socket .2 which supports the doubleililanien't :lampbulb l, and where thereflector is to be used with a double lilamen't bulb the axis of the perforation is preferably somewhat above the axis 1 of the reilector. The socket 2 extends through this pei'loration and the perforation vertically Sleeve lgthe bore of which tube along 'its' horizontal axiscorresponds to the outside diameterol the socket, but whichbore is elongated vertically. This tube has a rear end 4 prov-ided with perforation 5 which has up- In the embodiment oi Figs. l to 6,,the reextends acre per and lower parts of the same radius as the d ameter of the socket and which has these parts connected by short vertical portions spaced from each other by the said diameter, as shown in Fig. 3.

This perforation also has at its bottom an enlargement forming a recess 9 to attord room for the forward arm 10 of a thrust bracket which is rigidly secured to the socket. To effect this securing, I am here showing the rear end 2 of the socket. 2 as being provided with a non-circular and rearwardly directed tubular extension 2 which extends through a correspondingly shaped perforation it in the vertical central part 12 of the thrust bracket, after which the rear end of this extension 2" is flared out to clinch the bracket part l2 against the rear end of the sock t.

Extending through the back 13 of the lamp casing from the rear of the latter is a focusing screw ll which is threaded through the vertically extending arm 15 of an angleshaped nut which has its other arm 16 dirccted toward the filaments of the lamp bulb and desirably directed slightly above a rearwardly extending arm 17 of the thrust bracket. Intel-posed between the said arms ltl and 17 and rigidly secured to both thereof is a flat strip 18 of normally straight spring metal which forms the resilient member of any focusing device. A compression spring 19 interposed between the back l3 of the lamp casing and the vertical nut arm 15 takes up any looseness between the nut and this nut arm, and also urges the focusing screw 14 forvmrdly so as to hold the head of this screw continuouSly against the rear face of the easing back 18.

With the parts thus arranged and with the resilient m anber 18 made of relatively stilt spring material. this resilient member is substantially rigid longitudinally of the lamp, 5.0 that it will readily pull the socket rearwardly when the screw 1-1 rotated to draw the nut arm 15 rearwardly, and will likewise push the socket forwardly when the screw ll is rotated in the opposite direction. llene'. this afl'ords a simple mechanism for adjusting the lamp bulb longitudinally of the lamp.

To adjust the lamp filament or filaments vertically. I provide means for rocking the r-Ot'ktt in a vertical plane bout the wall of the perforation in the reflector, and desirably employ a lever acting on the thrust:- bracket either directly or through the intermediary of the resilient member. For that purpose, Figs. 1 and show a rocking lever 20 which the axis of the lamp socket and which has at i 3 lower end a foot 28 mounted for rocking movement on the casing back 13. The upper part of the lever has an edge 2% engaging the lower face of the resilient member 18 and this edge is preferably rounded so that. it will readily slide along the spring. and the lever has an intermediate portion trunnioned on a nut threaded upon a screw 23 which extends forwardly through the cusing back .13. To connect the nut 22 operatively to the lever, 1 preferably make the nut cylindrical (as shown in Fig. 1) and provide the lever with a rearwardly directed bend 20 in which the nut is seated. By doing this and by disposing the lever oblique to the resilient men'lber and inclined 'lm'wardly upward, 1 cause the resilient member to press the lever forwardly, thereby holding the trunnioning bend in the. lever against the nut 22.

To prevent the lever from slipping laterally out. of engagement with the resilient member, l provide this lever with a pair of guide fingers and spaced by a distance slightly greater than the width of the resilient member and extending upwardly beyond the edge llat opposite sides of the resilient member. as effectively to provide a forked upper end for the lever. Thus arranged, the guide fingers or fork arms on the lever prevent a lateral movement of the upper end of the lever. hence I can employ a simple mounting for the foot 9.8 of the lever, such as a pin it; riveted to the casing back and extending loosely through a perforation in the foot. ll'ith the guide member or sleeve 1 fast upon the reflector, the guiding of the arm it) o f the thrust bracket by the lateral edges of the recess 9 in the sleeve prevents the socket from rotating in the sleeve, hence all parts of my device are readily kept in operative relations to one another.

However, when a lamp bulb is being inserted in. or removed from. the socket, the rearward thrust on the socket may tend to flex the resilient member considerably. and might even snap it out of the forked upper end of the lever. To guard against this. I. prefhrably provide the. lever with a stop part adapted to limit the upward movement of the resilent member with respect to the lever. such as an arm 25" formed on the finger i217 and extending toward the companion finger but leaving a s'uflicient gap to permit the resilient member to be inserted into the said fork from the top of the lever. I also pref erably make the lever of such an effective length that it flexes the resilient member somewhat throughout. the normal range of adjustment, thereby insuring a continuous and firm pressure of the resilient member on the lever to prevent rattling and to prevent a. looseuii'ig of the two adjusting screws Thus. while Fig. 1 shows my device in a position in which the lower filament of a twofilament. lamp bulb is on the axis 27 of the rel'lcctor. the resilient. member is somewhat flexed and will continue to bear firmly against the edge 2t of the lever if the lower (or tilt.- adjust-ing) screw 23 is unscrewed so as to permit the resiliency of the resilient member to Inn Ian

llf

guide can act as astop for limiting the upward tilting of the socket, as shown in Fig. 2, and I preferably have the strip-connected arms 16 and 17 so disposed that the resilient member will still be slightly bowed when this maximum raising of the lamp bulb is effected.

Instead of having the tilting action transmitted through the resilient strip, I may have the lever engage a rigid part supported by the socket,as for example, by providing the thrust bracket 33 with an extension 34 en-' gaged directly by the lever 20 as shown in Fig. 7. This latter figure also shows a spring washer 29 interposed between the casing back 30 and a pin 31 which extends through the adjusting screw Thus arranged, the pin 2'31 and the washer 29 serve the major purpose of the compression spring 15) of Fig. 1, namely that. of eifectively swiveling the focusing screw on the back of the casing.

With each of the two illustrated embodiments, the resilient strip need only be bowed so slightly that it will act as a substantially rigid member for transmitting longitudinal adjusting movements from the upper adj usting screw to the socket, while permitting the socket to rock readily in response to adjusting movements of the companion screw. In practice, lamp bulbs are usually adjusted. first longitudinally of the lamp and the change in concentration of the projected beam is easily observed even if the filament is not in its proper vertical position Hence the slight change in the height of the filament during the longitudinal adjusting does not interfere with the accuracy of that adjustment and the vertical position of the filament afterwards easily adjusted by manipulating'the lower screw.

However, while I have illustrated and described my invention in embodiments including desirable structural features, I do not wish to be limitedto the details of the construction and arrangement thus disclosed,

since many changes might obviously be made without departing either from the spirit of my invention or from the appended claims. So also. it will be obvious that the perforated part of the reflector in the illustrated embodiment functions as a stationary socket supporting element by which the socket is supported with freedom'for longltudinal sl ding and for rocking movement and that the cas- *i-ng back functions :as another stationary member supporting the two adjusting screws.

Hence Ido not wi-shto be limited to thence of my invention in'embodi ments-in which this socket-supporting element forms a part of a reflector, or in which the adjusting screws are mounted on the backof a=casi-ng.

I claim as my invention: '1. In a lamp, a casing,"a reflector spaced forwardly from the back of the casing-and provided with a perforation, a lamp socket extending shdably through the said 'per foratlon and adapted to rock on the-wall of the perforation, a flat resilient member 'fastenedto and extending rearwardly from the socket, longitudinal adjusting means operable from the rear of the casing for bodily moving the resilient member forwardly or rearwardl-y, a. lever pivot-ally mounted on the casing and extending oblique to the resilient member and slidably engaging the latter, and vertical adjusting means operable from outside the casing for rocking the lever about its said pivotal mounting. V i

2. A lamp construction as per claim '1, including means on'the lever for limiting the movement ofthe lever transversely of the resilient member.

3. A lamp construction as per claim 1, in which the lever has a part forming a fork dis-- posed so that the bottom of the fork engages the resilient member within the said fork.

4. A lamp construction as per claim 1, in

which the lever has a bend intermediate its the wall of the perforation, a screw extending forwardly through the back of the easing and effectively swiveled upon the said back; a nut threaded on the screw, a resil ient and normally straight member connecting the not with the socket and extending longitudinally of the socket whereby rotation of the screw moves the socket longitudinally of the reflector, and means mounted upon the casing for flexing the said member to cause the latter to rock the socket about the aid perforation wall.

6. In a lamp, a casing, a reflector spaced for "ardly from the back of the casing and having a substantially axial perforation, a lamp socket having its axis adjacent to and extending in the same general direction as the axis of the reflector; a guide member fast on the reflector and through which the socket also having other portions engaging the sides of the socket to limit such rocking to movement in a vertical plane; screw-actuated adjusting meuns interposed between the socket and the hack of the ("a ing for sliding the Rocket longitudinally \vith respeet to the guide memher the said n'ieans including a resih ient memhcr constructed so as to he suhstantialiy rigid longitudinally of the socket \vhile sutliciently resilient to permit a rocking of the socket; and screw-actuated means carried by the hack of the "asing 'lor rocking the socket upon the guide member.

7. A lamp construction as per claim (3, in which the guide means comprise a sleeve extending real-email from the reflector in substantial alinenlent with the perforation in the l'tfilOCtOl', the said sleeve having a rear end provided with a perforatii'm of greater height than the diameter of the socket and having its lateral midheight perforation wall portions vertical and spaced from each other h the diameter of the socket.

S. A lamp construction as per claim 6 in which the guide member has a forward portion disposed for lilnitil'lg the rocking ol' the socket in one direetziol'i.

Signed at Detroit, Itlichigan September '3, 1926.

CHARLES E. GODLEY. 

